


do what's good for you (or you're not good for anybody)

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Awkwardness, Chrom is a dork, Chrom's recklessness, Cooking, Domestic, F/M, Laundry, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Self-Esteem Issues, Sumia wants to be everyone's housewife, Sumia's pies, Tryhards falling in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-04-22
Packaged: 2018-01-20 08:33:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1503827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which the pie-baking pegasus knight and the dorky prince have more in common than they realize.</p>
            </blockquote>





	do what's good for you (or you're not good for anybody)

**Author's Note:**

> any/any - “I don’t wish to be everything to everyone, but I would like to be something to someone.”

Every day she managed to break her own record of how many times she could trip over her own feet or thin air, watch people frown or hide their giggles or fret over her and wonder how a silly girl like her ever managed to become a Shepherd in the first place. She'd tried to join the royal Pegasus Knights with Cordelia, but the older girls scolded and mocked her when she tripped and dropped her practice lance. _She's no good, Captain Phila. Sumia, you'll just have to watch._ And Phila, out of concern for Sumia's well-being, had agreed. It was humiliating and Sumia went home and cried and felt sorry for herself, if Cordelia hadn't come over and snapped her out of it she'd still be at home wallowing in pity.

So when she was asked to join Chrom's Shepherds, she made up for her lack of grace by making tea and doing chores and trying to cook for everyone. If she couldn't be a strong knight, she'd be their maid.

"A noblewoman like you has no business doing such dirty work," Maribelle scolded. Sumia didn't look up from the pile of Sully's socks she was washing and smiled.

"It's all I _can_ do. And I really don't mind." She finished the socks as quickly as she could, trying her best not to drop any as she hung them to dry, and moved on to Stahl's tunics. While those soaked, she dusted the empty tables. She didn't feel competent enough to dust ones with important things on them, or anything at all.

The day she rescued a wounded pegasus on the north road, she finally dared to get up in the saddle she'd been denied as a girl. Moments later, she ended up saving Chrom's life. The other knights had been wrong, the air was the one place she couldn't trip or drop anything and the instant bond with her pegasus only helped more. She'd found her place as a fighter at last.

Sometime later, she noticed Chrom seeming more tired and stressed than usual. She caught him tripping over a pebble and forced him to rest. She spent the rest of day in the kitchen trying to cook and gave the first successful attempt at a pie to Chrom. He returned the favor by making her tea despite her protests, and she ended up giving him another pie two days later.

Cordelia teased her about having a crush, but that wasn't the case. No, not at all...she _liked_ him, of course, but he was her captain and she wanted to help _everyone,_ not just him. She still did everyone's laundry, not just his; Chrom's smallclothes were third on the list of everything she'd washed that day. She fed the horses and pegasi and aside from one accident involving some pebbles she was competent enough at that.

But as time went on, Chrom became more and more stressed and she found herself reaching out to him more and more. She kept baking pies, kept doing his laundry, protected him during battles and made sure he rested. Frederick often teased her for doing _his_ job and Cordelia and Sully and Robin teased her about her supposed crush on their captain.

But feelings or no feelings, she had to take care of them. Especially him. Sometimes she would end up exhausted herself, but that was nothing new for her. She was used to trying to do everything for everyone, he wasn't.

One day, he keeled over during a practice session with Stahl. After Frederick rode in like a raging storm and rushed him to Lissa and Maribelle Sumia discovered he'd skipped nearly a full night of sleep to go over the tactics Robin and Flavia had devised. He slept until long after dinner that night, and Sumia brought him a bowl of warmed-over stew and some fresh bread.

"You were so _reckless,_ " she scolded the moment she returned. "Honestly, Chrom, can't we take our eyes off of you for one minute?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I guess I stayed up later than I thought last night." He took the bowl and spoon from her and began to eat like he hadn't seen food in days, only resting when the bowl was a little more than half-empty. "This is good! Whose turn was it to cook tonight?"

"Frederick's. He's no Stahl, but he's better than half of us." Sumia smiled a little. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, much. Thanks for bringing it in," he said. "Sorry I worried you."

"Chrom, why are you doing this? I know the war's a big deal and you're our leader, but Robin and Frederick and Flavia are here to help you for a reason," she said. "You're a wonderful leader, but you have to rest _sometime._ "

"I can't. Not until Emmeryn is safe and Plegia's no longer a threat," he said, biting off a big hunk of bread, chewing and swallowing quickly. "King Gangrel's the one who started everything, and I-"

" _We._ " She put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing firmly. "I know what you're about to say, and you're wrong. It's not just your job, it's _ours._ The Shepherds are a team, isn't that what you've always said?"

"Well, yes..." He turned to look at her. "But I could say the same thing about you, Sumia."

"W-what?" Fear gripped her, had she done something wrong? Was she letting her new skills and role go to her head? She'd saved a few lives and won many a battle, but... _maybe I should slow down a little and hold back so the others don't think I'm a showoff!_

"You're always the one trying to be everyone's maid," he said. "Laundry, pies, feeding the horses, gardening, cleaning, you do it all."

"Oh..." She smiled. "Well, I _like_ doing all those things! I-"

"But you don't _have to._ " He moved closer, placing his hand over hers. "Sumia, we all appreciate your help, but you've gone from _helping_ to _housewife!_ You've got to take care of yourself, too. You're a valued member of the Shepherds, and you always have been." Her heart skipped a beat and her cheeks grew hot, Sumia trying to pretend she was more interested in Chrom's half-eaten bowl of stew.

"Y-you should finish!" He set the bowl down beside the bedroll and shook his head.

"This isn't about stew anymore, or about me. Sumia, we just want you to be yourself. Stop trying to be everything for everybody."

"Chrom..." She sighed. "I know I'll never be everything to everybody, I'm too clumsy and silly for that. But if I can just be _something_ to _someone_ it'll all be worth it." His cheeks went slightly red.

"I know how that feels. But I _have_ to be everything to everybody," he said. "Emmeryn's counting on me to be her next in line. Granted, I probably won't take the throne until I'm an old man but I'm still a Prince of Ylisse. Royalty is born knowing they'll always have to be an example to the world."

"But even so..." She wrapped her arm around him. "You're already doing a wonderful job! You're a great leader, a fantastic brother, a skilled warrior. Everyone trusts you with their lives and believes in you, you don't have to work yourself to the bone to prove yourself!"

"And neither do you." He leaned against her. "We'd still value you and your friendship even if you never washed another sock or baked another pie again."

"I know...deep down, I know that. But I've never thought very much of myself, you know that." She smiled sadly. Chrom took her other hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Tell you what. From now on, we help each other take it easy, okay? I'll get more sleep and stop training every waking moment, and you let other people help with the laundry and the pies." She smiled, absently running a hand through his mussed hair.

"It's a deal," she said. "Thank you, Chrom."

"And Sumia?"

"Yes?"

"You already _are_ something to me."

He picked up his bowl and began to eat again, and Sumia's heart soared.


End file.
